The Coronal Radiance resounded across the world.
Tonight was destined to be another sleepless night for countless people.
For viewers who loved Amphoreus, the fourth episode was their only expectation for the next few weeks.
This anticipation was a happy one, though somewhat agonizing.
A few days later.
Greece, Athens.
The afternoon sunlight lazily poured down.
People came and went across the square.
There were not only Greeks, but also many unfamiliar faces.
They were not locals, but travelers who had come to Greece from all over the world.
Greece was a major tourist country, and such a scene was nothing unusual.
It was just that many of the tourists who came here nowadays were here because of Honkai: Star Rail's Amphoreus arc.
Interestingly, because of how exceptionally much Greeks loved Amphoreus, people all over the world had come to know that Greeks had a particular fondness for it.
Some travelers had come here precisely to see just how crazy the Greeks were about it.
At this moment, on the edge of the square, a flaxen-haired girl was sitting there with a book in her arms, looking rather gloomy.
Her name was Thalia. She was an ordinary local university student.
As for why she was feeling so gloomy, of course, it was because of that man she was most worried about.
Phainon.
Ever since the release of Coronal Radiance, Thalia had fallen into a deep depression.
"When the third episode ended, I thought my heart was going to stop beating. Then, as soon as Coronal Radiance appeared, I cried for an entire day again."
Thalia looked at her phone.
On the screen was a picture of Phainon. She really loved that trailer.
Would his past be very painful?
Just thinking about it was enough to make Thalia's own heart ache.
Just then, her phone vibrated.
It was a message from her father.
"Time to come home."
Seeing the message, Thalia slowly got to her feet and crossed the square.
Her family was considered to be at the bottom of the social ladder in Greece. Although they had their own small shop that specialized in selling souvenirs and cultural-artistic products, due to some unexpected circumstances, their life was not particularly good and was rather difficult.
Aside from studying, her daily routine consisted of helping her father take care of the shop's business.
As Thalia crossed the square, she passed by those tourists holding up their phones and taking pictures.
Most of them were foreigners. Thalia couldn't understand what they were saying, but she could make out a few syllables.
Something about Aglaea, Mydeimos, Trianne... She couldn't help but laugh.
In the past, people came here to check in at Greece. Many of them knew absolutely nothing about the history of this land. They would take a picture, add the caption "This is Greece," and post it on their social media.
Now it had become, "This is the real-life inspiration for Amphoreus."
There wasn't much difference, except that there were far more people now.
As long as people came and spent money, that was enough. As long as her father's shop did better, everything was fine.
After crossing several streets and alleys, Thalia pushed open the glass door of her family's small shop on the eastern side of the square.
The wind chime above the door rang with a tinkling sound. Hanging beneath it was a sign embroidered with golden thread, bearing several letters from the name "Amphoreus."
"You're back?" Thalia's father poked his head out from behind the counter.
"Go get ready. There's a group of customers coming later."
"Mm." Thalia nodded and began tidying up the things in the shop.
This little shop had originally sold various cultural and artistic products and collectibles, while also taking advantage of foreign tourists by selling them various "cultural relics." But nowadays, the products sold inside the shop had changed quite a bit.
Aside from an aged print depicting the Greek War of Independence hanging on the wall, everything else had also changed from various "recently unearthed cultural relics" into blue-and-white landscape photographs in the style of Santorini.
These photographs were surrounded by notes left behind by customers. The colorful notes were filled with different languages from countries around the world.
Germany, France, England, as well as China, Japan, India, Vietnam...
Although they came from all over the world and spoke completely different languages, the contents were astonishingly similar.
The names that appeared most often were those of the various Chrysos Heirs: Phainon, Mydei, Cyrene, Aglaea, Tribbie...
After tidying up the wall, Thalia added a few new notes to the collection.
Then, she turned her attention to the table. Just by looking at the things on the table, if one wasn't told that this was a small shop specializing in cultural products, they would probably think it was a store specifically selling Honkai: Star Rail fan merchandise.
Cultural shirts printed with "See You Tomorrow" and "Amphoreus," incense inspired by the sea of flowers in the underworld and based on Castorice, wine glasses shaped after the city of Okhema, as well as various exquisite accessories inspired by Aglaea.
Thanks to MiHoYo's meticulous research into Greek culture and its extremely strong artistic foundation, these "fan-made" products naturally carried a higher level of aesthetic quality when they were created. They actually looked quite authentic and did not appear cheap at all.
There were many more things like these.
And, incidentally, even the reproduction products of Greek Classical-era objects that had previously been impossible to sell had suddenly become extremely popular.
On the other side of the table, there was a small bookshelf.
The bookshelf was filled with all kinds of thick books, all of them concerning ancient Greek philosophy.
Looking closely, one would discover that these books all had strong connections to Amphoreus.
Tribbie's popularity had brought books on the philosophy of hope back into fashion.
Mydeimos, meanwhile, had made books related to Patricide extremely popular.
Castorice's philosophy concerning life and death.
There were even books about the transformations of ancient Greek civilization throughout history.
These things that normally made people drowsy had also begun selling in greater numbers after Amphoreus became popular.
Not everyone who bought them would necessarily go home and read them. But buying these books made them feel that they had already come a little closer to the world of Amphoreus and its real-world origins.
People became enthusiastic about exploring Greek culture because, that way, when discussing Amphoreus with their friends, they could quote historical references, take out a souvenir from ancient Greek culture, and speak at length about the connection between Amphoreus and Greece.
Only then would they appear more profound and mysterious.
Greek culture had become a trend. It was no longer just old stuff.
That was Thalia's most direct impression.
The remains of this long-dead civilization seemed to be coming back to life.
And it wasn't just spiritual recognition. There had also been economic changes.
Ever since Amphoreus began airing, this little shop's sales had skyrocketed.
It wasn't just this one shop. Throughout Greece, anywhere connected to classical culture had begun seeing a huge surge in sales of all kinds of cultural products.
As for this, Talia was more than happy to see it.
Just as Talia was thinking about these things absentmindedly, one thought after another, customers arrived.
A group of young foreigners likely from Germany.
After seeing the dazzling array of goods inside the shop, the eyes of these young people lit up.
They excitedly began looking through the merchandise, and then noticed the notes and photographs on the wall.
Very soon, there was another set of photographs and notes on the wall.
Among them, several of them could speak a little Greek.
Talia could also speak a little German.
So, through the difficult conversation between the two groups, she discovered, with both amusement and disbelief, a certain fact.
These people were indeed tourists from Germany and they had also come to chase the trend.
"The font is a variation written using Greek letters? This 'α' is written in such an ancient style!"
The boy at the head of the group excitedly held up philosophical books and T-shirts related to Castorice examining them carefully under the light.
'Actually, my mother wrote it with a marker.' Talia silently said this in her heart.
She did not interrupt the boy's excitement, but instead said:
"I like this. It feels like another visual encounter with Mydei's view of life and death. It's so profound, so Greek."
"I'll buy three. One to wear myself, one to collect, and one to give to my Greek professor."
Talia lowered her head and pretended to organize the drawers, biting her lip tightly for fear that she would laugh.
It's just a T-shirt. What's so profound about it?! But perhaps... this was simply his love for Amphoreus...
Just like how Talia frantically collected everything related to Phainon, it was a manifestation of love.
Amid all the noise and commotion, this group of foreigner tourists gained a sense of satisfaction.
And that satisfaction turned into warm banknotes in Talia's father's hands.
"You're very happy?" Seeing her father grinning from ear to ear, Talia asked.
"Of course I'm happy. These people come here to eat, buy things, and then I make money. Whether they're buying Greek cultural artifacts or Amphoreus', uh... what was that word again? Fan works, I don't care."
"Money can change our lives, Talia. That's a good thing." Her father simply expressed his thoughts.
Talia smiled and asked, "But Dad, aren't you a nationalist? You don't care that Greece has, in a certain sense, become a subsidiary of Amphoreus?"
"No, my dear daughter." Her father laughed loudly. "Greece died a long time ago. We're all insects living on its corpse."
"After Athens fell and the ancient myths became inscriptions on stone tablets, Greek culture became an appendage of others. And this time, at least, there is at least someone that is telling our story."
"You know, their country has a long history, yet unlike us, they died long ago. Yet they still have always maintained their strength and vitality."
Talia was very glad that her father was not a truly extreme nationalist. However, she did not entirely agree with some of the things he had said.
For example, had Greece really died? She didn't think so.
At least now, Talia felt that this dead civilization was gradually being revived.
The current "Greek craze" was the opportunity.
"I'm going out for a walk." Talia did not think about it any further. Instead, she walked toward the door.
She wanted to find a quiet place to scroll through her phone for a while, and at the same time search online for analyses of Phainon and Khaslana.
Many of the analyses online pointed toward tragedy. But Talia still wanted to find an interpretation that could give her hope.
As she passed the wall, she glanced at it and saw the notes left behind by the young people who had just visited.
One of them was written in English:
"Thank you, Greece, for giving birth to such a great story."
"Thank you, Greece, for giving birth to such a great story."
Talia stared at the sentence for a moment.
Giving birth... A new beginning... Perhaps, from this point onward, more and more people would create even more stories upon the foundation of Greek culture.
And more people would once again turn their eyes toward her country.
If people's gazes became numerous enough, if their expectations became strong enough, perhaps it could become famous once again.
Talia pushed open the door. She headed toward the square.
Along the way, she saw a familiar bookstore.
The best-selling novels section had been replaced by editions of Homer's epics, mythology books, and reprints of Oedipus Rex.
Beside them were all kinds of posters featuring the Chrysos Heirs of Amphoreus. Young people stopped in front of the bookstore. There were foreigners as well as locals.
They were all fellow enthusiasts. People who originally had nothing in common had been brought together by Amphoreus, gathering at the entrance of the bookstore and discussing the series, the past, and the future.
The owner of the bookstore was an elderly woman with gray hair. When she saw Talia passing by, she gave her a friendly smile.
Talia had heard the old woman's story.
Decades ago, the old woman and her husband had run this bookstore, and Talia's father would often come by to read. Back then, young people would buy a book by Cavafy, or perhaps a collection of Plato's dialogues.
Later, fewer and fewer people bought books, and the bookstore gradually fell into decline. But recently, people had returned, carrying an even greater enthusiasm.
Talia felt that as long as there were still people willing to search for their ideals, their resonance, and their own reflections within these stories, culture was something that would never truly disappear.
Night fell.
The vitality of the people made all of Athens seem younger.
The buildings that had been passed down from ancient times to the present were also surrounded by young people.
In front of the ancient buildings, people felt the same winds that had blown a thousand years ago, and, like their ancestors, engaged in philosophical contemplation.
If someone could look down from above, the fervor taking place beneath the stone columns and geometric buildings would resemble the glory of the distant past.
However, at the headquarters building of the Arts Committee, less than three kilometers from the Athens, the scene was entirely different.
The more enthusiastic it was outside, the more despairing it was here.